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When Michel Therrien came to Wilkes-Barre, one of the first things he did was hang a sign in the locker room that said, “It’s all about commitment and respect.” Now, he has a sign in the Pittsburgh locker room that says, “It’s all about pride, commitment and respect.”

What does that mean? Absolutely nothing. I just found it interesting that Therrien has changed his slogan.

David, you are absolutely correct to suggest that it matters little who scores in scrimmages, especially with all the penalty shots. I also think these scrimmages are a terrible way to evaluate goalies, what with the penalty shots and generally asystematic play. But you can get a feel for who’s playing well and who isn’t.

Colby Armstrong is playing well. He had three goals today — two on penalty shots and one on an empty netter. More important than those stats, he and Sidney Crosby showed the chemistry that made them a good combo last year. Crosby scored the goal of the day too, turning on the jets to split Rob Scuderi and Michal Sersen and beat Andrew Penner.

Erik Christensen scored on two penalty shots, which brought up a question in my mind: Would you keep a guy on your fourth line specifically because he’s good on penalty shots? I think I might. If you’re only going to use your fourth line eight minutes a game, might as well keep some specialists on it. A tough guy, a faceoff specialist and a shootout guy. Thoughts?

Malkin had another nice scrimmage, maybe not as flashy as Friday. He took a couple of borderline boarding hits from Josef Melichar, raising a few eyebrows. I’m still going to give Malkin one more day before I revise my rookie point predictions.

The injury to Ronald Petrovicky (out eight to 10 weeks with hip surgery) will theoretically give Michel Ouellet some breathing room for now as far as making the team and open the 13th forward spot for someone who wouldn’t have otherwise been considered. That means Erik Christensen, Daniel Carcillo, Ryan Stone, Jonathan Filewich and Libor Pivko, to name a few.

Camp moves from Pittsburgh to Atlantic Canada after practice tomorrow, at which time I’ll be heading back to NEPA. Word is a handful of cuts will be made today before the move.

Brad, glad you caught my reference, but I’m only flying around the arena with balloons if I can meet Katherine McPhee afterwards.

I’m this close to taking back all the conservative estimates I was making about Evgeni Malkin’s rookie year. He was excellent in the scrimmage today, one of the best players on the ice. He scored a goal by banking it off Dany Sabourin’s back from the goal line, just like Mario would do. He used his acceleration to blow by a couple guys and also scored on a penalty shot. Perhaps he’s the kind of guy who plays up to the level of his competition. One more day like this and I’ll be rethinking my predictions for sure.

I also thought Brooks Orpik had a really good day. He was formidable in 1-on-1 drills and smoked Joe Jensen in the scrimmage. If he has a big year, that could go a long way toward improving a Penguins defense that was poor last season.

Marc-Andre Fleury was shaky. He gave up two goals on penalty shots and got beat short side on an Andre Roy slap shot from the left wing. Jocelyn Thibault, meanwhile, was outstanding. He didn’t give up a goal and stopped four penalty shots, including two by Sidney Crosby. Who would have predicted that? But you know what? Thibault’s only 31. Maybe he has a few good years left in him. Stranger things have happened.

Sabourin looked pretty good. Andrew Penner had to face a bunch of penalty shots, so he was sort of under siege. He’s a bigger guy than I thought he was. He’ll be an interesting player to watch. Patrick Ehelechner didn’t play in the scrimmage. Once he does, Joerg, I’ll be sure to post a report.

On the free-agent defenseman front, Matt Carkner looked a bit out of sorts and took three penalties. He has to knock the rust off. Micki DuPont, on the other hand, looked good. One thing I forgot about him: He never met a shot he didn’t like and that’s not a bad thing.

Espo, I think it would be a swell idea to send Noah Welch down to start the season so Kris Letang can get a 10-game look, then call Welch up as soon as Letang goes back to juniors. But let’s see Letang against the big boys for another scrimmage or two first. He didn’t stand out today like he did in rookie camp.

Today’s scrimmage was very useful for figuring out where certain players stand as far as making the team out of camp. Let me post a rundown of the line combos and defense pairs to illustrate the point.

FORWARDS

Ekman-Crosby-Armstrong

Malone-Malkin-Recchi

LeClair-Moore-Ruutu

A.Roy-Talbot-Ouellet

Pivko-Christensen-Filewich

Stone-Staal-James

Carcillo-Dixon-M.Roy

Wallace-Kennedy-Jensen

DEFENSEMEN

Eaton-Gonchar

Whitney-Orpik

Melichar-Scuderi

Welch-DuPont

Letang-Nasreddine

Carkner-Lannon

SCRATCHES

Petrovicky-Morrison-Bonvie

Skolney-Bissonnette

Cairns-Sersen

Some notes based on that list.

I would say Ouellet has a lead in the race to make the team at right wing, but because Petrovicky was scratched, it’s hard to say.

I sort of like the dynamic of the third defense pair because it creates competition. Want an NHL job, Welch, DuPont, Letang, Carkner, Nasreddine, etc.? Fine, beat out Melichar or Scuderi and we’ll talk.

What is LeClair-Moore-Ruutu? Checking line? Scoring line? That one’s going to have to change before opening night. (Actually, what are the chances any of these lines stay intact by opening night? Remember last year? Lasse Pirjeta was first-line center on the first day of camp.)

Check out tomorrow’s paper for what I think is an interesting tale about Libor Pivko. Bye for now.

I guess it was technically day one. It was really just physicals in the morning and a pick-up game in the afternoon. The serious business starts tomorrow morning.

During camp, I always find it interesting to see which players are in the actual Penguins locker room and which players are in the bare bones rookie locker room. Evgeni Malkin was the only player I saw invited into the home room from the rookie camp. Michel Ouellet was in the big locker room. Libor Pivko wasn’t. Does any of this really matter? Probably not. Just something I notice.

On this Malkin issue, after Ovechkin (106 points) and Crosby (102 points) last season, the next two on the rookie scoring list were Brad Boyes (69) and Jussi Jokinen (55). I really expect a season closer to those two for Malkin (although I think Malkin has a much higher upside, eventually). Based on having watched him for more than a week now, I don’t see Malkin having the star quality that Ovechkin and Crosby have at this young age. I don’t see him dominating.

Keep in mind, the Crosby/Ovechkin standard is a ridiculous standard to hold a rookie to, but if you’re going to view Malkin through that prism, it’s my opinion that he doesn’t compare. I could be way wrong. Malkin might go 40G-40A. If he does, somebody remind me and I’ll apologize.

Here’s a Malkin note, by the way. His locker is right next to Colby Armstrong’s. If people learn English faster simply by hearing a large volume of English words spoken for hours on end, he’s got the right stall.

Jim, I would be shocked if any of the WBS training camp practices at the arena were open to the public. I haven’t seen a schedule yet, so I don’t know which practices, if any, will be at The Ice Box. I’m sure that announcement will come soon.

Let me leave with a few things I’m interested in keeping an eye on the next few days.

Who plays left wing on the first and second lines? Nils Ekman and Ryan Malone are probably pencilled in, but I could see Jarkko Ruutu, Libor Pivko or John LeClair working their way in.

Who plays fourth-line center? Max Talbot is the favorite, but I could imagine Erik Christensen or maybe even Ryan Stone getting their foot in the door. Perhaps Malone moves to third-line center, Dominic Moore to fourth-line center and another wing spot opens up. Plenty of options.

Can anyone mount a challenge to Armstrong’s hold on the right wing job on Crosby’s line?

Does Noah Welch look as good against the big boys as he did in rookie camp? If so, how will Penguins brass fit him onto the opening night roster?

Those are just a couple of questions off the top of my head. I bet more will emerge as we go along.

I couldn’t find a link to the Carcillo story either, so I posted it below this entry. To those worried that he might lose too much edge to be effective, here’s a quote that didn’t make the story. It should allay those concerns to some degree.

“I’m sure there will be times when I will have to fight. I won’t shy from it. After a big hit or if someone does something to one of my teammates, obviously we’re going to fight. But other than that, no sideshow and more of a complete hockey player.”

Aimee, Bo Cheesman will join the Penguins when AHL camp opens Sept. 23 at the Wachovia Arena. He’ll have a chance to make the team or at least be one of the first players up from Wheeling.

Ryan Stone missed practice today as a precaution because he had surgery to correct a sports hernia in the offseason. The Penguins are giving him some extra rest.

And on the Malkin issue, I absolutely agree that hockey fans were spoiled by Crosby and Ovechkin last season. Look at the rookie scoring leaders the three previous seasons. I expect more along those lines from Malkin.

2003-04

Michael Ryder, MON

25-38–63

2002-03

Henrik Zetterberg, DET

22-22–44

2001-02

Dany Heatley, ATL

26-41–67

Nothing that happened today changed any of the opinions I’ve formed during rookie camp. Here’s a wrap-up, and we’ll move on to main camp observations starting Thursday.

Noah Welch is ready to play in the NHL. Period.

Jordan Staal is talented enough to play in the NHL right now, but a year in juniors to bulk up wouldn’t hurt.

Connor James, Joe Jensen and Tyler Kennedy are quick little guys who should fare well under the way games are being called these days.

Michal Sersen and Mathieu Roy should be signed. They have potential to put pucks in nets.

Kris Letang is going to be an exciting player in the NHL very soon. A 10-game look to start this season wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Nick Johnson is a name to remember once he finishes at Dartmouth. He’s got a nice combination of size and skills.

Most of the WBS veterans in rookie camp — Stone, Carcillo, Filewich, Lannon, Bissonnette nd Dixon — looked pretty good but haven’t done enough yet to force management’s hand to consider them immediate NHL contenders. They’ll need to do a little more in main camp.

That about covers it. Some new faces take the ice starting Thursday afternoon.

That’s the word from winger Daniel Carcillo, who said he is turning over a new leaf as he begins his second season in the Penguins organization.

“No sideshow. Just play the game,” said Carcillo, who piled up 311 penalty minutes in 51 AHL games as a rookie, taunting opponents, taxing refs and infuriating his own coaches along the way.

“This year, I’m not going to go out and look for fights. I’m sure I’ll find some, but I’m going to try to be a complete player and stay out of the box and just put up points.”

In other words, if his prediction holds true, fans won’t see the Carcillo who played air guitar in the penalty box after finally fighting Louis Robitaille in a playoff series against the Hershey Bears last spring.

They’ll see the Carcillo who had seven goals and seven assists in the first 13 games of the season playing on a line with Erik Christensen and Michel Ouellet.

“We complemented each other,” Carcillo said. “Ouellet finishes, Christensen’s got the moves, and I was able to get on the forecheck and get them the puck. It was a good line.”

The motivation behind Carcillo’s new attitude is a simple one: He wants to get to the NHL, and frankly, he’s not far from reaching that goal.

The left wing depth chart is not impossible to crack in the Penguins organization, and new general manager Ray Shero has mentioned Carcillo as a prospect to watch on several occasions since he got the job.

“I want to be more of a complete player,” Carcillo said. “That’s what they want of me up here and I want to play at this level.”

On the surface, it seems Penguins coaches would be pleased to hear of Carcillo’s new attitude. After all, he was a handful as a rookie.

“It’s something we’ve addressed with him,” Pittsburgh assistant coach Mike Yeo said. “I think he knows that if he’s going to play in the NHL, he has to be a professional on and off the ice.”

But, Yeo continued, it’s not as simple as that. There’s a fine line Carcillo needs to learn to walk.

“I don’t want to call it a sideshow,” Yeo said. “That’s a special talent, to be able to get under other players’ skin, but you have to do it in a way that’s not going to hurt your team. You can’t be taking penalties at the wrong time. He can’t be taking suspensions.

“Sometimes you want to make sure you stay out of the box. Sometimes you want to try to draw a penalty. It’s a matter of feel. It’s a matter of maturity in that role.”

In refining his role, Carcillo has a good model to pattern himself after in Penguins camp – Finnish superpest Jarkko Ruutu, who signed with Pittsburgh in the offseason.

“He’s a great example,” Yeo said. “He’s got that special knack where every game he plays, he’s a really difficult guy to play against and that’s what we’re looking for here. We want a team that’s really tough to play against. There’s certainly guys that want to come up and fill that role and it’s not something that everyone can do.”

I have to admit, I’m ready for the rest of the roster to arrive. See, I’m not a trained hockey scout. When I watch a guy practice, I can give a basic report. How big is he? How well does he skate? How well does he handle the puck? Is he competitive? Etc. But watching him practice four times does not usually change my opinion, so it’s getting kind of repetitive at this point.

I’m not complaining. It’s cool. I just fear I might be repeating myself. I apologize if I do.

Let me hit on John’s question from a few days back about possible surprises for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. (And yes, I’ll be here for regular camp, at least until it packs up for Nova Scotia). Would Michal Sersen qualify as a surprise? The Penguins will hold his rights for the next two years, so they’re in no hurry, but it says here he should be signed now and worked into the AHL rotation. He’s a gifted offensive defenseman coming off a great year in juniors and he’s competitive enough to suggest that he’ll get better.

Does Joe Jensen count as a surprise? I think he can put up some points at the AHL level. And then there’s Mathieu Roy. There’s something intriguing about him and I wouldn’t mind seeing him stick around.

I don’t think any of those are shockers. They’re just guys who caught my attention that maybe I didn’t expect to catch my attention.

By the way, not that anybody asked me, but I thought Malkin had a poor practice today. Pucks rolling off his stick. He seems disinterested, lacking intensity. I know I’m nitpicking. I know the kid has worlds of talent. It’s just something I noticed.

Some quick hitters from today:

Assistant GM Chuck Fletcher said 6-10 players will be cut after today’s practice ends the rookie portion of camp. One of the most interesting decisions will be made on Jordan Morrison. He’s quick and athletic, but he’s undersized and hasn’t really stood out in rookie camp. Does he get a contract offer?

I’m not sure it helps him get a contract, but center Jeff Kryzakos, a tryout who had 33 goals in Owen Sound of the OHL last year, has consistently finished checks better than any other rookie in scrimmages.

Other than that, I’ve found the scrimmages lacking in intensity in general. Perhaps they need a dose of Daniel Carcillo to spice them up. (Don’t expect that, though. Check out Carcillo’s comments in a story in tomorrow’s paper. He’s a new man, apparently).

Nick Johnson scored the only goal of the scrimmage after some tic-tac-toe passing that went Welch to Lannon to Staal to Johnson. Staal looked really good again.

Kris Letang hit two crossbars. His team generated most of its best scoring chances when he and Sersen were on the points. That can’t be a coincidence.

Mel, I missed Flavor of Love. It’s hard to keep up with your shows when you’re traveling, you know? Hopefully I can catch a replay. Lorri, glad to hear your son is coming back soon. That really is good news. And Jason, if I hear anything on any of those guys, I’ll make sure to let everybody know.

My day started when I gave Libor Pivko directions to the Penguins locker room because we happened to be walking into the Mellon Arena at the same time. I can’t believe I was part of such an historic moment. Or something.

Anyway, John, I really don’t see a lot of room for surprises in Pittsburgh. I think Noah Welch is the only newcomer who could crack the lineup on defense, and that wouldn’t be a surprise. I think somebody like Daniel Carcillo, Ryan Stone or Jonathan Filewich could make the team out of camp, but they’d have to beat out Pivko and Michel Ouellet to do it, so it won’t be easy.

I’ll give you a prediction that might be surprising: Connor James gets called up to Pittsburgh at some point this season. His game is well suited for the way the rules are called these days. He darts in and out of spots and is good with the puck. It’s too early to be making these predictions, really, because I haven’t seen any of the new guys in real game situations, but from what I’ve seen in three days, I can’t see why Los Angeles didn’t want to at least keep him around to see how he develops.

As for the WBS roster, I can’t see any reason not to at least try to sign Mathieu Roy. He may be a bit of a clunky skater, but he does a lot of the things the elite goal scorers do, finding open spaces and putting pucks on net, for example. I wonder if contract talks will be difficult because of the kind of junior credentials the kid has.

Steelpens, I hope the relationship between Besa and the Ice Box isn’t beyond repair. That would be too bad. Pete, I guess you’re right. I’ll speak for myself. I’ve been watching hockey for 20 years and I’ve never seen anyone do what Besa can do on hockey skates. Perhaps you have.

Val, thanks for the link to that Welch-Lannon story. It was entertaining. I definitely see them as the new Armstrong-Endicott. I hope Armstrong is holding up OK with Endicott off to Nashville. It makes me think of the scene in Strange Brew when the McKenzie brothers are separated for the first time. Tear-jerking.

Jason, the coaching has been mellow so far in rookie camp, as you might expect. I mean, it’s just the first three days of rookie camp. No need to burst a blood vessel yet. I can picture, however, Michel Therrien skating onto the ice when regular camp begins like Darth Vader and reading the riot act if he sees fit.

OK, some observations from today.

For the first time, the rookies scrimmaged for about a half an hour today. Malkin was awesome on his first shift, weaving through defensemen to get two shots on net. He was quiet after that.

The first goal was an unscreened Mathieu Roy slap shot from just inside the blue line that tipped in off the glove of goalie Patrick Ehelechner. The second goal came when Daniel Carcillo took a pass from Jeff Kryzakos on the left wing and roofed a wrist shot. Kris Letang, Jordan Staal and Carcillo had pretty shootout goals. Letang went top shelf from his backhand. Staal went to a backhand move. Carcillo did a little stop-start move and steered a puck around the goalie’s right pad.

Staal turned 18 today and had to skate through a gauntlet of players tapping him with their sticks to start practice. He looked good in game situations. He uses his size to protect the puck and always looks to use his teammates first. I’d say he was probably the best player on the ice during the scrimmage.

Joe Jensen and Moises Gutierrez left the ice early in practice with left leg injuries. Jensen returned quickly. Gutierrez was still hobbling a bit afterwards. Jensen is another guy who looks way more impressive in game situations than in practice. He’s a lot like James, using his speed to dart around the offensive zone. I liked Tyler Kennedy in the scrimmage too. He’s sneaky fast.

Besa Tsintsadze stole the show today at the second day of rookie camp. I’m sure many of you, especially those who spend any time at The Ice Box, know Besa. Little guy from Georgia (not the state Atlanta’s in, the Republic of). Best skater you’ve ever seen. Anyway, he’s been hired as a power skating coach for rookie camp and he put on a show. I have a story about him running in tomorrow’s paper.

Also in tomorrow’s paper, some thoughts from Michel Therrien. For example, he mentioned that he will not be on the ice for any of the rookie camp. He’ll watch from the stands. He said it’s to give the new coaches a chance to get to know the players and that it’s common for head coaches to stay off the ice for rookie camps. Fair enough.

One story I forgot to mention from yesterday: There was a potential problem brewing after the first day of rookie camp. Rookies are always trying to impress the coaches as much as possible, so it was starting to look like no one would be willing to be the first one off the ice after practice. Frankie Leroux was always great at being the first guy off when he was in WBS. Chris Kelleher picked up that torch from him. Nobody like that is in this camp.

Anyway, Ryan Lannon stepped up and did the job, followed soon therafter by Noah Welch and Ryan Stone. Lannon said the WBS vets were told to be the leaders when they came to rookie camp and so he obliged and left first (although he made sure Therrien wasn’t watching before he did). Lannon, Welch, Connor James and Joe Jensen are the oldest players in rookie camp at age 23. No one in this camp was born in the 70s. Feel old yet?

OK, let’s hit some notes on a few players.

Let me tell you how impressed I’ve been with Welch the first two days of camp. If I had to make a list of players I’ve been impressed with, it would start: 1) Welch. 2) Malkin. To answer David’s question, it’s possible the Penguins wanted Welch in the camp to be a steadying presence among a bunch of rookies, sure. Or maybe they just figured he’d play like a rookie. After all, he only has five NHL games to his credit.

Here’s my Malkin prediction. I put the over-under on his points this season at 60 1/2. Most people would make that number a lot higher. Which side would you take?

I paid some more attention to Jordan Staal today and he looked good. He has a super reach and knows how to use it. If he fills out a little bit, yeah, I think you could put him in the same sentence as his brother Eric in a couple years. I’m not sure he’s as explosive as Eric, but time will tell.

Joe Jensen showed off some wheels and some hands in a 2-on-2 scrimmage today. He looked way more comfortable than he did yesterday. I always thought he projected as a penalty killer type as a pro. Now, I’m thinking he’s more of a skill guy. I’m interested to see how he does in a true scrimmage or exhibition game.

Kris Letang has the kind of vision and hands you’d love to see in your power play quarterback. I have still yet to be impressed with his work in 1-on-1 defensive situations. Maybe I’m holding him to too high a standard. You don’t expect your Porsche to be able to haul lumber too.

Nick Johnson stood out at times in a good way. He has good speed and skill and seems bigger than the 6-1, 183 he’s listed at. Everyone expects him to return to Dartmouth after camp, but he’s a kid to remember down the line.

Patrick Ehelechner was back on the ice after taking a puck to the knee yesterday. He seems to be fine. And Joerg, he seems to fit right in at this level. To be honest, though, I haven’t watched the goaltenders closely during drills, as far as seeing who’s playing well and who isn’t. I’ll pay more attention tomorrow.

Let me leave you with the lines and defense pairs as they were configured for most of the day. I think they give a pretty good indication of how the organization views its depth chart at this point.

Let’s jump right into some impressions from the first day of rookie camp.

Today’s practice was billed as optional, but it clearly wasn’t. Two 45-minute sessions with a break for resurfacing in between. Mike Yeo, Todd Richards, Dan Bylsma, Gilles Meloche and Besa Tsintsadze were on the ice for both halves. Andre Savard was also out for the first half.

The first guy that caught my attention in drills was Connor James. The kid can really skate. The new rules have to help him. If he plays in Wilkes-Barre all year, I’ll be stunned if he doesn’t top the 17 goals he scored in Manchester last year. Stunned.

Noah Welch doesn’t really belong with this rookie group. He’s too polished. He knows how to use his stick and his body much better than any other defenseman in camp. He looks like he’s in midseason shape too.

Michal Sersen caught my eye because of his competitiveness. When he was paired up with Malkin on 1-on-1 drills, you could tell he stepped up the intensity. They wiped out and slid into the post once. Sersen lifted Malkin’s stick to steal the puck once. I think of Sersen as an offensive guy, but I think he might have some potential in his own end too.

I was as impressed with Kris Letang as anybody else in camp last year, but he didn’t seem to excel in the drills they did today. Maybe he needs to be in a game situation to stand out. Some guys are like that.

To Joerg, I didn’t get to see much of Patrick Ehelechner, as he was injured just a few minutes into the first half of practice. He was helped off the ice, favoring his right leg, and did not return. When I get an update, I’ll pass it along.

Jason, I know about the awesome numbers Mathieu Roy put up in juniors last year, but here’s my first impression: You know how they say some guys skate effortlessly? He’s the opposite of that.

Three thoughts on Malkin. First, he uses his size much better than I expected and much better than most kids his age. He’s more likely to go through a defenseman than try to dangle around him. Second, coach Todd Richards said he’s most impressed by how Malkin can separate from a defenseman in two strides. That kind of acceleration is rare. Finally — and this part is completely unscientific — he doesn’t have the star power Sidney Crosby has. Your eye isn’t drawn to Malkin like it is Crosby. Maybe that’s silly. Maybe I’ll change my mind tomorrow. But that’s how I felt after one practice. Take it for what it’s worth.

Defence21, my first impression of Jordan Staal is that he is much taller than I expected. If he fills out, he could be dangerous. But let me watch him for a couple practices before I babble on more about him. Mike, same goes for the ATOs other than Roy. I need some more evidence.

Just got back from the first day of rookie camp. I need to get my story written and take care of a few things before I do a full blog update — want to make sure we get the hockey out of the way before the high school football starts tonight — but I wanted to post briefly as a bit of a preview.

During this first part of training camp, I plan to blog every day a few hours after the final practice, offering observations and little details, the kind of things that don’t make it into actual stories due to space constraints or whatever.

If anyone has any particular prospects they’d like a few words on, feel free to post a comment. I’ll make sure to watch them. And check back later tonight for a full blog update.

A winner of first-place honors in the blogging category of the 2012 Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors awards, Penguins Insider was created to give local hockey fans an interactive, in-depth way to follow the team they so passionately support. The blog's author, beat writer Jonathan Bombulie, has been covering the team since its inception in 1999. Contact him at jbombulie@aol.com

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